Printing press nonstop side register mechanism

ABSTRACT

The side register mechanism has a feed board with endless tapes reeved about spaced pulleys for advancing the sheet toward the impression cylinder of a printing press. Endless driven chains with front stop members are arranged in parallel relation with the driven tapes. The tapes are driven at a slightly higher velocity than the chains to maintain the front edge of the sheet in abutting relation with the stops on the chains as the sheet is conveyed along the feed board. A side guide mechanism is arranged to advance with the sheet at substantially the same velocity as the sheet and has a pivotal finger member and an underlying plate member that move laterally relative to the feed board as the side guide mechanism advances toward the feed board delivery end. As the sheet is conveyed from the feed end toward the delivery end by the endless tapes, the side guide mechanism movable finger moves downwardly into abutting relation with the upper surface of the sheet and engages the sheet between the finger and the movable plate member. Both the sheet and the side guide mechanism advance at the same velocity toward the delivery end of the feed board and the finger and movable plate are moved laterally with the sheet therebetween until the side edge of the sheet abuts a side guide member. At this location the sheet is in side register. Continued advance of the side guide mechanism toward the discharge end of the feed board releases the sheet from between the finger and the movable plate.

United States Patent [72] Inventor Carl 0. Sleblte Gulfport, Fla.

[21] Appl No 881,102

[22] Filed Dec. I, I969 [45 I Patented Aug. 3, 1971 73] Assignee MillerPrinting Machinery (In.

Pittsburgh, Pa.

[54] PRINTING PRESS NONSIOP SIDE REGISTER [56] References Cited UNITEDSTATES PATENTS l,040,l68 l0/I9l2 Dexter et al. 271/49 2,699,941 l/l955Huck et al. 271/49 X 2,840,373 6/]958 Socke 271/48 Primary Examiner-EvenC. Blunk Assistant Ex miner-Bruce H. Stoner, Jr.

ArrorneyStanley J. Price, Jr.

ABSTRACT: The side register mechanism has a feed board with endlesstapes reeved about spaced pulleys for advancing the sheet toward theimpression cylinder of a printing press. Endless driven chains withfront stop members are arranged in parallel relation with the driventapes. The tapes are driven at a slightly higher velocity than thechains to maintain the front edge of the sheet in abutting relation withthe stops on the chains as the sheet is conveyed along the feed board. Aside guide mechanism is arranged to advance with the sheet atsubstantially the same velocity as the sheet and has a pivotal fingermember and an underlying plate member that move laterally relative tothe feed board as the side guide mechanism advances toward the feedboard delivery end. As the sheet is conveyed from the feed end towardthe delivery end by the endless tapes, the side guide mechanism movablefinger moves downwardly into abutting relation with the upper surface ofthe sheet and engages the sheet between the finger and the movable platemember. Both the sheet and the side guide mechanism advance at the samevelocity toward the delivery end of the feed board and the finger andmovable plate are moved laterally with the sheet therebetween until theside edge of the sheet abuts a side guide member. At this location thesheet is in side register. Continued advance of the side guide mechanismtoward the discharge end of the feed board releases the sheet frombetween the lfinger and the movable plate.

Patented Aug. 3, 1971 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 k INVENTOR CARL 0. S/EBKE hisAffarnoy Patentefl Aug 3,, 1H

4 Sheets-Sheet INVENTOR I I H I cam o. SIfB/(E II I maN'H '1:

his; Affarnmy Patented Aug. 3, 1971 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 c I78 .L. 3%

IN VENTOR CARL 0. S/EBKE his Attorney PRINTING PRESS NONSTOIP SIDEREGISTER MECHANISM BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the InventionThis invention relates to apparatus for moving a sheet into sideregister and more particularly to apparatus for moving a sheet into sideregister as the sheet is being conveyed to the press.

2. Description of the Prior Art In substantially all sheet fed printingpresses, where the sheets are fed sheet by sheet down a feed board tothe press, the sheet is stopped on the feed board and moved laterally bya side guide mechanism into side register. The sheet is thereafteraccelerated at a slightly higher velocity than the peripheral velocityof the printing press impression cylinder and the sheet leading edge ismoved into abutting relation with the front register bar for frontregister of the sheet. The leading edge of the sheet is then engaged bythe grippers on the impression cylinder and the sheet is thereafterconveyed through the press in both side and front register. A printingpress side guide that requires stopping the sheet and moving the sheetlaterally into side register is illustrated and described in US. Pat.2,553,758.

One of the problems encountered with a sheet side register mechanismthat requires stopping the sheet is the high acceleration anddeceleration imparted to other portions of the press. A substantial loadis imposed on the gearing, shafts and the like to start and stop theapparatus both associated with transporting the sheet and drivinglyconnected to other apparatus associated with the sheet transportingapparatus. A substantial amount of force is required to overcome theinertia experienced in the high acceleration and deceleration of theapparatus especially to accelerate the gearing, shafts and the like toattain the commercial speeds required for feeding sheets into the press.Also, the stopping of the sheets for side register requiressubstantially larger cylinders within the press. The diameter of thecylinder for a given press speed is dependent on the speed at which thesheets can be continuously supplied to the front register bar on theimpression cylinder. Where it is necessary to stop the sheet for sideregister, cylinders of larger diameter are required for a given pressspeed to provide time for the sheet front edge to move into abuttingrelation with the front register bar on the impression cylinder. Theoversized cylinders thus have a substantial portion of the cylinderperiphery not used to support the sheet being printed. There is a needfor a nonstop side register mechanism that does not require stopping thesheet on the feed board to move the sheet laterally into side register.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to a sheet side registermechanism that includes endless tapes and endless chains having frontstop mechanisms thereon for advancing the sheet toward the discharge endof the feed board. The endless tapes are driven at a velocity slightlyhigher than the chains so that the front edge of the sheet remains inabutting relation with the stop members on thechains as the sheet istransported by the endless tapes. A movable side guide mechanism ispositioned along a side of the feed board and moves toward the feedboard discharge end at substantially the same s eed as the sheet. Theside. guide mechanism includes apparatus to engage the side edge of thesheet as the sheet is being conveyed across the feed board by the tapesand to move the side edge of the sheet into abutting relation with aside guide plate where the sheet is in side register. The side guidemechanism includes a pivoted flexible finger positioned in overlyingrelation with a movable plate member. The finger is arranged to bepivoted downwardly into abutting relation with the upper surface of theplate with the sheet edge portion therebetween. After the sheet edgeportion is engaged between the finger and movable plate, both the fingerand movable plate with the sheet therebetween are moved laterally tothereby move the sheet edge portion into side register against the sideguide plate. After the sheet is in side register, the finger and movableplate continue to move laterally and release the sheet. I

Accordingly, the principal object of this invention is to eliminatestopping the sheet for side register as the sheet is conveyed to theprinting press.

Another object of this invention is to reduce the size of the presscylinder by concurrently moving the sheet into side register as it isbeing conveyed to the impression cylinder.

Another object of this invention is to eliminate the high ac celerationand deceleration of the sheet feeding apparatus by not stopping thesheet for side register.

These and other objects and advantages of this invention will be morecompletely disclosed and described in the following specification, theaccompanying drawings and the appended claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. l is a fragmentary top plan viewof a portion of the nonstop register mechanism illustrating the sideguide mechanism in retracted position and in phantom lines in anadvanced position.

.- FIG. 2 is a view in side elevation talten along the lines II-II ofFIG. 1 illustrating the drive for the side guide mechanism.

FIG. 3 is a view in side elevation taken along the lines III-III of FIG.l and illustrating the drive for the endless chains and schematicallythe impression cylinder of a press and the pullin rolls ofa feeder.

FIG. 4 is a view in side elevation taken along the lines IV-IV of FIG. Iillustrating the drive for the endless tape.

FIG. 5 is a view taken along the lines V-V of FIG. ll illustrating infront elevation the side guide support and the side guide with the sheetengaging finger in an up position.

FIG. 6 is a view similar to FIG. 5 with the sheet engaging finger in adown and sheet engaging position.

FIG. 7 is a view similar to FIGS. 5 and 6 illustrating the finger in adown and retracted position.

FIG. 8 is a top plan view of the side guide mechanism in the positionillustrated in FIG. 6 with parts broken away to illustrate the diamondshaped cam member.

FIG. 9 is a fragmentary view in side elevation and partially in sectionillustrating the shaft and biasing means for the cam.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring to the drawings andparticularly FIGS. ll--4 there is illustrated a nonstop side registermechanism generally designated by the numeral 10 having a feed end 12and a discharge end 114. The feed end 112 is positioned adjacent thepull-in rolls 116 (FIG. 3) of a conventional sheet-by-sheet feeder. Thedischarge end of the nonstop register mechanism 10 is positionedadjacent the impression cylinder 18 of a printing press. The nonstopregister mechanism includes upper feed rolls 20 and lower feed rolls 22that engage the sheet at the discharge end 14 and convey the sheet tothe register bar Ed on the impression cylinder 11S at a velocityslightly greater than the velocity of impression cylinder 18 so that thesheet bulges slightly as illustrated at 26 to urge the sheet front edge2% into abutting relation with the register bar 24. With thisarrangement, the sheet will be in register when it is engaged by thegrippers 29 on impression cylinder 13.

The side guide member ill} has a side frame member 30 and a fixedgenerally rectangular transverse support member 32. The side framemember is suitably supported on the transverse member 32 and providessupport for the pair of spaced transverse shafts IM and 36. The framemember 30 has end apertures 3b therethrough with bushings 40 thereinthat permit the shafts M and 36 to rotate in the apertures 38. Extendingtransversely from the side frame members 30' are a pair of rods 42 whichsupport depending air barsa l positioned in overlying relation with theconveyor tapes, later described. The air bars 44 are arranged to providea downwardly flowing air stream onto the upper surface of the sheet andthereby urge the sheet into frictional engagement with the conveyortapes.

The shafts 34 and 36 are driven from a suitable drive means (not shown)and are arranged to drive the conveyor elements and the side guidemechanism of the side register mechanism 10. The shaft 34 has alongitudinal spline 46 and tape drive pulleys 48, 50 and 52 arenonrotatably positioned on the shaft 34 and are movable longitudinallyrelative thereto.

A central tape support casting 54 (FIG. 4) is secured to the generallyrectangular transverse member 32 and has a tape idler pulley 56rotatably positioned thereon adjacent the register mechanism dischargeend portion 14. The casting 54 has a bracket portion 58 extendingforwardly therefrom through which the shaft 36 extends. An endlesscentral tape 60 is reeved about end pulleys S2 and 56 and maintained intension by takeup pulleys 62 and 64. With this arrangement, rotation ofdrive pulley 52 by shaft 34 drives the tape 60 about the pulleys at apreselected velocity.

- An intermediate tape support casting 66 is movable supported on thetransverse member 32 and is illustrated in elevation in FIG. 3. Thecasting rotatably supports an idler pulley 68 and takeup pulleys 70 and72. An endless tape 74 is reeved about the respective pulleys and isdriven by the shaft 34 through drive pulley 50. Similarly, an end tapesupport casting 76 is supported on the transverse member 32 and isillustrated in elevation in FIG. 2. An idler pulley 78 and takeuppulleys 8 and 82 are rotatably supported on the casting 76 and tape 84is reeved about the respective pulleys and driven by shaft 34.

With this arrangement, the tapes 60, 74 and 84 are arranged to be drivenby shaft 34 at a preselected velocity to convey sheets from feed end 12to discharge end 14. It should be understood that FIG. 1 is afragmentary illustration of approximately one-half of the side registermechanism and intermediate and end tapes similar to tapes 74 and 84 arepositioned on the opposite side of the central tape 60. As will be laterdiscussed, a side guide mechanism may also be provided on the oppositeside of the assembly so that side register may be accomplished on eitherside of the mechanism 10 as the sheet is conveyed from the feed end 12to the discharge end 14.

The intermediate and end castings 66 and 76 have threaded apertures 86and 88 therethrough and the center casting 66 has a shaft supportpassageway 88 therein above the transverse member 32. A shaft 90 havingdifferent pitch threads extends through the respective threadedapertures 86 and 88 and is supported in a passageway in central casting54. Similar threads are provided for the portion of the shaft 90 on theother side of the central casting 54. A handle 92 is provided for theshaft 90 outboard of the side frame 30 for rotation of shaft 90 to thusmove the castings 66 and 76 relative to the central casting 54 andprovide lateral adjustment for the tapes and side guide mechanism 10.With this arrangement, the side guide mechanism 10 may be used withsheets of different widths.

The casting 66 has an idler sprocket 92 rotatably supported thereon. Asprocket 94 is nonrotatably secured to shaft 36 by means of a keyextending into the longitudinal spline 96 on shaft 36. An endless chain98 is reeved about the sprockets 92 and 94 and is maintained in desiredtension by an adjusting pulley 100 secured to the casting 66. With thisarrangement the chain 98 is driven by the shaft 36 through drivesprocket 94. There are two stop members 102 and 104 on the chain member98 against which the front edge of the sheet abuts as the sheet isconveyed toward the discharge end of the mechanism 10. A chain similarto chain 98 with the stops 102 and 104 is positioned on the oppositeside of the central tape 60 to provide symmetry for the side guidemechanism 10.

An elongated side guide support member 106 is arranged in parallelrelation to and supported by the end tape support casting 76. The sideguide support 106 is illustrated in elevation in FIG. 5 and in plan viewin FIG. 1. The side guide support 106 has a pair of spaced recessedhorizontal rail portions 108 located on opposite sides thereof and pairsof vertical rail portions 110. i

A side guide mechanism generally designated by the numeral 112 has agenerally rectangular carriage 114'with pairs of legs 116 dependingtherefrom on opposite sides of the carriage 114. Rollers 118 arerotatably secured to the depending legs 116 and are positioned in therecessed portions forming the horizontal rails 108. Also depending fromthe carriage member 114 are horizontal rollers 120 that abut thevertical rails 1 10 on the side guide support 106. With this arrangementthe side guide carriage 114 moves reciprocally on the side guide support106 from the position illustrated in full lines in FIG. 1 to theposition illustrated in phantom lines in FIG. 1.

The side guide carriage 114 is driven by endless double chains 122 thatare reeved about spaced double sprockets 124 and 126 supported onvertical shafts 128 and 130. The sprockets 126 are nonrotatably securedto shaft 130 and the shaft 130 has a bevel gear 132 nonrotatably securedto its lower end portion. Drive is provided for sprockets 126 by theshaft 36. As illustrated in FIG. 2, the shaft 36 has a spur gear 134secured thereto that meshes with connecting gears 136 and 138. The gear138 meshes with a spur gear 140 on a horizontal shaft 142. A bevel gear144 mounted on shaft 142 meshes with bevel gear 132 on shaft 130. Withthis arrangement, the chains 122 are propelled around the sprockets 124and 126 by rotation of transverse shaft 36.

The carriage 114 has a transverse channel 146 therein, FIGS. 5--7, inwhich there is positioned a roller member 148. The roller member 148 isrotatably secured to links of chains 122 by means of shaft 150. Withthis arrangement, side guide carriage 114 is reciprocated on the support106 by engagement of the roller 148 with a side wall of the transversechannel recess 146. FIGS. 5 and 6, illustrate the transverse movement ofthe roller 148 in channel 146.

A guide member generally designated by the numeral 152 is secured to theside guide support 106 by a pair of spaced brackets 154. The guidemember 152 has an inverted longitudinal channel 156, shown in FIGS. 57.The guide member 152 is supported by brackets 154 at an acute angle tothe side guide support 106 and is arranged to move a portion of the sideguide mechanism 112 laterally as the carriage 114 moves down along theside guide support 106 toward the side guide mechanism discharge endportion 14.

Supported on the carriage 114 are a pair of movable slide plates 158 and160 (FIGS. 57). The upper plate 160 has a roller 162 extending upwardlytherefrom and positioned in the longitudinal channel 156 of guide member152. Plate 160 has a depending end portion 164 with an aperture 166therethrough. The slide plate 158 positioned beneath slide plate 160 hasa depending end portion 168 and a rod 170 extends through the aperture166 in plate 160 and is secured in the depending end portion 168 ofslidable plate 158. The rod 170 has an enlarged head portion 172 with adimension greater than the dimension of the aperture 166. A coil spring174 is positioned between depending end portions 164 and 168 of plates158 and 160 and urge the depending end portions away from each other toprovide a lost motion connection therebetween. The lower plate 158 hasan insert 176 that has an upper surface at approximately the same levelas the under surface of the sheet on the tape 84. The insert 176 moveslaterally on carriage 114 with the slide plate 158. An upstandingbracket member 178 is secured to the upper slide plate 160 and has apivot aperture 180 in which a pivot shaft 182 is positioned.

A sheet engaging device generally designated by the numeral 184 ispivotally connected to the bracket 178 by the pivot pin 182. The sheetengaging device 184 has a first portion 186 with a resilient pull finger188 extending therefrom and a second portion 190 with a cam follower 192rotatably supported thereon. The portion 190 has a longitudinal recess194 therein in which a coil spring 196 is positioned. The coil spring196 is suitably secured at one end to the first portion 186. Anadjusting screw 198 is arranged to adjust the com pression of spring 196and thus control the force of the sheet engaging finger 188 against thesheet when the finger 188 is in the position illustrated in FIG. 6. Thespring urges the first portion 186 away from the second portion 190 andthus provides a resilient downward force on the end portion of finger188.

The carriage 114 has an upstanding member 200 with a generallydiamond-shaped recessed portion 202, the sidewalls of which form a camsurface for carn follower 192. The upstanding member 200 has atransverse passageway 204 extending therethrough with a shaft 206rotatably positioned therein. The shaft 206 is nonrotatably secured atone end to an upstanding lever 208 and on the other end to adiamondshaped movable cam 210. Rotation of lever 208 thus controls theposition of the diamond-shaped cam as illustrated in FIGS. 5, 6 and 7.The upstanding member 200 has an upstanding bracket 212 with a rod 214extending horizontally therefrom. The upstanding lever 208 has anaperture 216 and the rod 214 extends therethrough. The end portion ofrod 214 is threaded and supports a knurled adjusting nut 218. A spring220 is positioned between the upstanding lever 208 and the nut 218 andexerts a force against the lever 208 so that it normally assumes theposition illustrated in FIG. and diamond-shaped cam member 210 is in theposition illustrated in FIG. 5.

Torsional spring 222 is positioned around the pivot pin 182 and isengaged to the bracket member 178 and to sheet engaging device 184. Withthis arrangement, a torsion is exerted on the sheet engaging device 184to urge the cam follower 192 into an upper track against the upper wallof the diamond recess 202 in member 200 when the bracket 178 and slideplate 160 move relative to member 200 secured to the fixed slide 114.

Extending upwardly from the member 200 is a side guide plate 224 thathas an outer surface 226 against which the side edge of the sheet abutswhen the sheet is in side register. The side register for the sheet maybe adjusted by adjusting the entire side register mechanism laterallyuntil the surface 226 of side guide plate 224 is aligned with thepreselected line for side register of the edge of the sheet.

Before the operation of the side register mechanism is described indetail, the operation of the movable cam member 210 within the diamondrecess 202 of member 200 will be briefly described. In the positionillustrated in FIG. 5, the lever 208 is in abutting relation with theupstanding bracket 212 and the diamond cam member 210 is in the positionillustrated. It should be noted that the cam follower 192 on sheetengaging device 184 is so constructed that it clears the pointed ends ofthe diamond-shaped cam member 210 when in the extreme positions. Thetorsion spring 222 urges the sheet engaging device 184 upwardly so thatrearward movement of the plate 160 will move the cam follower 192 alongthe upper surface of the diamond-shaped cam 210 until it progresses tothe position illustrated in FIG. 6. Continued lateral movement of theplate 160 moves the bracket 178 and sheet engaging device 184 laterallyrelative to the diamond-shaped cam 210 and pivots the diamond-shaped camto the position illustrated in FIG. 6 and moves the lever 208 away fromthe bracket 212 and compresses the spring 220. There is, however, aforce being exerted on the diamond-shaped cam 210 to rotate in aclockwise direction because of the compressed spring 220. Continuedlateral movement of plate 160 moves the cam follower 192 to the positionillustrated in FIG. 7. At the position illustrated in FIG. 7, thepointed end portion of the diamond cam 210 clears the cam follower 192and pivots to the position illustrated in FIG. 5. When thediamond-shaped cam is in the position illustrated in FIG. 5 and theplate 160 is moved laterally in a direction from left to right as viewedin FIGS. 5-- 7, the cam follower 192 abuts the under side of thediamondshaped cam 210 to move the finger 188 to the position illustratedin FIG. 5. Although the cam follower 192 is urged upwardly by thetorsion spring 222 when the diamondshaped cam is in the positionillustrated in FIG. 5, there is not sufficient clearance between the camand the upper surface of the recessed portion so that the cam follower192 must move along the under side of the diamond-shaped cam 210.

The side guide mechanism 10 operates in the following manner. Sheets arefed singly to the side guide mechanism 10 by means of the pull-in rolls16. The under surface of the sheet is frictionally engaged by theendless tapes 60, 74 and 88 and are timed so that the front edge of thesheet is moved into abutting relation with the stop members 102 or 104on chains 98. The sheet is conveyed at a preselected velocity determinedby the endless tapes 60, 741 and 88 toward the discharge end portion ofthe side guide mechanism 10. The chains 98 are driven at a slightlylower velocity to maintain the sheet front edge portions in abuttingrelation with the stops 102 while the sheet is being transported by thetapes 60, 74 and 84. The side guide mechanism 112 is in the positionillustrated in full lines in FIG. 1 as the sheet front edge engages thestops 102, as illustrated. The side guide mechanism 112 is propelledlongitudinally by the endless chains 122 at substantially the samevelocity as the sheet so that there is little, if any, relative movement between the side guide mechanism 112 and the sheet. The startingposition of the side guide mechanism 112 is that illustrated in FIG. 5where the engaging finger 188 is in an up position.

The sheet generally designated by the numeral 228 in FIGS. 5-7 has aside edge portion 230. The sheet as it is fed onto the side guidemechanism 10 has the side edge portion 230 beneath the finger 188 asillustrated] in FIG. 5. As the side guide mechanism 112 moveslongitudinally along the side guide support 106 with the sheet 228, theroller 162 in longitudinal channel 156 of guide member 152 moveslaterally because of the acute angle between guide member 152 and sideguide support 106. Lateral movement of roller 162 moves slidable plate160 laterally and moves bracket member 178 laterally to initiatemovement of cam follower 192 of sheet engaging device 184 along theupper surface of the diamondshaped cam 210 to thus move the finger 188into abutting relation with the sheet 228 positioned therebeneath.

Continued lateral movement of roller 162 moves plate 160 until thedepending portion 164 abuts the enlarged head 172 on rod 170. Afterplate 160 has attained this position, further lateral movement movesboth the slidable plate 160 and the slidable plate 158 positionedtherebeneath. The sheet 228 is frictionally engaged between the finger188 and the insert 176 in slidable plate 158. Further lateral movementof roller 162 in longitudinal channel 156 moves both slidable plates 160and 158 to thus simultaneously move the finger 188 and the insert 176laterally to move the edge portion 230 of sheet 228 into abuttingrelation with the surface 226 of side guide plate 224 to thus move thesheet in side register against the side guide plate surface 226.

As the side guide mechanism 212 advances toward the position illustratedin phantom lines in FIG. 1, both the finger 188 and the insert 176continue to move laterally to the position illustrated in FIG. 7. Thesheet side edge portion 230 remains in abutting relation with thesurface 226 of side guide plate 224 and the finger 188 and insert 230are disengaged therefrom so that the sheet is not engaged by the sideguide mechanism 112 after it is moved into side register. The feed rolls20 and 22 (FIG. 3) engage the sheet in side register and advance thesheet into the impression cylinder. It is preferred that the feed rollsare positioned to contact the advancing sheet as soon as the pull finger188 clears the sheet.

As the carriage returns to the position illustrated in full lines inFIG. 1, both slides 158 and 160 move together laterally to the right asviewed in FIGS. 5 and '7. The cam roller 192 is deflected downwardly bythe diamond-shaped cam 210 to thereby raise the pull finger enough toclear the next sheet moving down the feed board. When nearing the end ofthe return stroke, the depending end portion 168 of slide plate 158moves into abutting relation with carriage 114 and overlying slide plate160 continues to move laterally to compress the spring 178 to theposition illustrated :in FIG. 5. As previously discussed, in theposition illustrated in FIG. spring 220 urges upstanding lever 208against the bracket 212 so that the side guide mechanism 112 is againpositioned to side register the next sheet fed to the feed board.

According to the provisions of the patent statutes, 1 have explained theprinciple, preferred construction and mode of operation of my inventionand have illustrated and described what I now consider to represent itsbest embodiments.

I claim:

l. Sheet side register apparatus comprising:

first conveying means to convey a sheet in a first direction,

a side guide support member along a side of said first conveying meansaligned longitudinally in said first direction,

a side guide carriage mounted on said side guide support for reciprocalmovement thereon in timed relation to said first conveying means,

a side guide plate mounted on said side guide carriage and having asurface parallel to said first direction, and

sheet engaging means on said side guide carriage operable to engage aside edge of said sheet and move said sheet laterally against said sideguide plate surface to position said sheet in side register while saidsheet is being conveyed in said first direction.

2. Sheet side register apparatus as set forth in claim 1 which includes:

a side guide track secured to said side guide support member andextending angularly therefrom,

said sheet engaging means having a first plate member with a rollermember secured thereto and positioned in said side guide track, saidroller member operable in said track member to move the sheet engagingportion of said sheet engaging means laterally on said side guidecarriage while said side guide carriage moves longitudinally on saidside guide support.

3. Sheet side register apparatus as set forth in claim 2 in which:

said first plate member has an upstanding bracket member,

a sheet engaging device pivotally secured to said bracket member,

a second plate member positioned in underlying relation to said firstplate member and having a side edge portion movable laterally beneathsaid side guide plate,

said sheet engaging device having an end portion movable into abuttingrelation with said second plate side edge portion, and

actuator means operable to pivot said sheet engaging device and urgesaid end portion against the upper surface of said plate member andengage said sheet side edge therebetween.

4. Sheet side register apparatus as set forth in claim 3 which includes:

connecting means between said first plate and said second plate to movesaid second plate with said first plate after urging said sheet engagingdevice end portion against said second plate upper surface.

5. Sheet side register apparatus as set forth in claim 1 which includes:

an upstanding member with an internal cam surface on said side guidecarriage,

a cam follower connected to said sheet engaging means operable onlateral movement to follow said internal cam surface and move a portionof said sheet engaging means toward and away from a surface of thesheet.

6. Sheet side register apparatus as set forth in claim 2 in which:

said side guide carriage having an upstanding member with an internalcam surface,

said first plate member having an upstanding bracket member with a sheetengaging device pivotally secured thereto,

said sheet engaging device having a sheet engaging end portion and a camfollower other end portion, said first plate member operable uponlateral movement to move said cam follower along said cam surface andmove said sheet engaging end portion toward and away from a surface ofthe sheet.

7. Sheet side register apparatus as set forth in claim 6 which includes:

a second plate member positioned in underlying relation with said firstplate member, said second plate member movable laterally on said sideguide carriage,

connecting means between said first and second plate members operable toengage said second plate member to said first plate member after thesheet side edge portion is engaged between the upper surface of saidsecond plate and said sheet engaging portion ofsaid sheet engagingdevice.

8. Sheet side register apparatus as set forth in claim 5 which includes:

guide means on said upstanding member urging said cam follower againstsaid internal cam surface.

9. Sheet side register apparatus as set forth in claim 2 which includes:

adjusting means to control the force exerted by said sheet engagingdevice against a surface of the sheet.

10. Sheet side register apparatus as set forth in claim 1 in which:

said side guide support includes a pair of sprocket members positionedadjacent the opposite ends thereof, said sprocket members beingrotatable on said side guide support,

an endless chain reeved about said sprockets, and

means connecting said side guide carriage to said endless chain so thatsaid carriage moves reciprocally on said side guide support as saidendless chain orbits about said sprockets.

1. Sheet side register apparatus comprising: first conveying means toconvey a sheet in a first direction, a side guide support member along aside of said first conveying means aligned longitudinally in said firstdirection, a side guide carriage mounted on said side guide support forreciprocal movement thereon in timed relation to said first conveyingmeans, a sIde guide plate mounted on said side guide carriage and havinga surface parallel to said first direction, and sheet engaging means onsaid side guide carriage operable to engage a side edge of said sheetand move said sheet laterally against said side guide plate surface toposition said sheet in side register while said sheet is being conveyedin said first direction.
 2. Sheet side register apparatus as set forthin claim 1 which includes: a side guide track secured to said side guidesupport member and extending angularly therefrom, said sheet engagingmeans having a first plate member with a roller member secured theretoand positioned in said side guide track, said roller member operable insaid track member to move the sheet engaging portion of said sheetengaging means laterally on said side guide carriage while said sideguide carriage moves longitudinally on said side guide support.
 3. Sheetside register apparatus as set forth in claim 2 in which: said firstplate member has an upstanding bracket member, a sheet engaging devicepivotally secured to said bracket member, a second plate memberpositioned in underlying relation to said first plate member and havinga side edge portion movable laterally beneath said side guide plate,said sheet engaging device having an end portion movable into abuttingrelation with said second plate side edge portion, and actuator meansoperable to pivot said sheet engaging device and urge said end portionagainst the upper surface of said plate member and engage said sheetside edge therebetween.
 4. Sheet side register apparatus as set forth inclaim 3 which includes: connecting means between said first plate andsaid second plate to move said second plate with said first plate afterurging said sheet engaging device end portion against said second plateupper surface.
 5. Sheet side register apparatus as set forth in claim 1which includes: an upstanding member with an internal cam surface onsaid side guide carriage, a cam follower connected to said sheetengaging means operable on lateral movement to follow said internal camsurface and move a portion of said sheet engaging means toward and awayfrom a surface of the sheet.
 6. Sheet side register apparatus as setforth in claim 2 in which: said side guide carriage having an upstandingmember with an internal cam surface, said first plate member having anupstanding bracket member with a sheet engaging device pivotally securedthereto, said sheet engaging device having a sheet engaging end portionand a cam follower other end portion, said first plate member operableupon lateral movement to move said cam follower along said cam surfaceand move said sheet engaging end portion toward and away from a surfaceof the sheet.
 7. Sheet side register apparatus as set forth in claim 6which includes: a second plate member positioned in underlying relationwith said first plate member, said second plate member movable laterallyon said side guide carriage, connecting means between said first andsecond plate members operable to engage said second plate member to saidfirst plate member after the sheet side edge portion is engaged betweenthe upper surface of said second plate and said sheet engaging portionof said sheet engaging device.
 8. Sheet side register apparatus as setforth in claim 5 which includes: guide means on said upstanding memberurging said cam follower against said internal cam surface.
 9. Sheetside register apparatus as set forth in claim 2 which includes:adjusting means to control the force exerted by said sheet engagingdevice against a surface of the sheet.
 10. Sheet side register apparatusas set forth in claim 1 in which: said side guide support includes apair of sprocket members positioned adjacent the opposite ends thereof,said sprocket members being rotatable on said side guide support, anendless chain reeved about said sprockets, and means connecting saidside guide carriage to said endless chain so that said carriage movesreciprocally on said side guide support as said endless chain orbitsabout said sprockets.